Book form towel pad



Sept. 18, 1934. A, l. HoNDEvlLLE 1,973,984

BOOK FORM TOWEL PAD Filed Jan. 3. 1933 INVENTOR A.I.H011Iev Patented Sept. 18, 1934 muren STATES musei PATE ore

1,973,984 Boon FORM 'rowEL PAD a corporation Application January 3, 1933, serial No. 649,789

Claims.

This invention relates to towels for use lin servidors or public service cabinets and particular to a towel pad especially designed for use in the servidor shown in my co-pending application 5. for patent, Serial No. 641,183, led November 4,

1932, or that shown in my co-pending application, Serial No. 649,788, iiled January 3, 1933.

At present the form of towels most generally used in public service cabinets are the individual `paper towels or the continuous fabric towels of the roller mounted type. `The paper towels while sanitary are disliked for various reasons and the roller towels are not deemed entirely satisfactory to the public on account of the unsanitary manner I in which they must be handled toeXpose a fresh portion for use, and for other reasons. Admittedly individual fabricvtowels arranged so that each user will not have to handle or touch a towel previously used are best. To date however, as far as I am aware, attempts to use individual fabric towels in a commercial cabinet have not been entirely successful on account ofthe expense incident to laundering the same, which is so high that they cannot compete with either Ythe `paper' or roller towels.

The principal object of my invention therefore is to provide a'pad of individual towels for use in a dispensing cabinet so larranged that 1aunder4` ing expenses are cut to the minimum, so that they can successfully compete with paper towels and with the laundering costs of the roller towel. Other advantages of :my .improved pad willbe seen later.v

A further object of the invention is to produce a simple and inexpensive device and yet one which will be exceedingly eifective for purpose for which it is designed.

These objects I accomplish by-means of such structure and relative arrangement of parts as will fully appear by a perusal of the following specification and claims.

In the drawing similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several views:

Fig; 1 is a perspective view of thetowel pad in its preferred form. K Y

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary transverse section of'a dispensing 'cabinet or servidor with the pad mounted in position therein.

Figs. 3 and e are fragmentary perspective views .of a pad showing modified forms of rigid backs.

Referring now more particularly to the characters of reference on the drawing, the pad comprises a plurality of individual towels 1 of the proper size to be used in the dispensing cabinet 2. 4Along one edge and for about an inch in depth the thetowels are tightlycompressed and permanently bound together by rivets 3 and rows of stitchingy 4, so that an extremely rigid and firm back for the pad is formed. Intermediate the sidesof the pad the bound portion is provided with holes 5 for engagement with the supporting hooks 6 of the cabinet. v

' In the type shown in Fig. 3 the rigid back part is formed by a rigid metal or similar strip 'Zl inserted in' the middle of the towel pad 10, and extending along the bound edge; said strip being held in place by rows of stitching above and below the same. In Fig. e the rigid back is formed by an inverted metal or similar panel 8 in which the ends of the towels 1b are received in tightly compressed relation. The different ways shown here for forming the rigid back are illustrative of this important feature of the invention and other ways may also be used to attain the same result.

I say important feature advisedly, since it is this rigid back construction which enables my pad to be successfully and cheaply laundered. To properly launder the pads it is only necessary to place them in the ordinary laundry washing machine, running them through the regular washing and extracting processes, after which the pads are placed in a laundry dryer of the ordinary tumbler type, which completely finishes themready for use.

The tightly bound edge of the pad holds each and every towel pulled tightly across such bound edge so that there is formed of the pad a-substantially straight edge at its upper part. This prevents any crumpling of the loose portion of any towel up through this tightly bound edge. When the pad is thus constructed the tightly bound edge constitutes a substantially rigid portion of the pad by which it can be handled in the laundering operations. During the washing operation, in laundering, there can` be no possibility of the-loose edges of the towels-lodging between the compressed edges so that when the towels are laundered and then subjected to the usual drying operation the pad will be in such shape that the tightly bound upper edge may, after passing through the dryer,;be grasped at its ends by the operative and a simpleshaking will straighten all of the towels in substantially parallel relation ready for insertion in the dispensing apparatus. -It is to be observed that this tightly bound edge forms,` under such conditions, a lineal support for the bodies of the towels and lies, in its compressed condition, entirely within Athe outer planes of the body of the pad so'that operative, hang straight and smooth in rectangular form below the compressed edge and no ironing is required.. It will also be observed that the bodies of the individual towels are so free that, in the washing machine, they may open one from the other and permit free passage of the wash water and detergent all through the body oi the pack thus insuring complete washing of the used and soiled parts of the towels. Moreover, by reason of the fact that the upper edges or the towels :forming the pad are tightly compressed and of the fact that the towels depend therefrom, they act to smooth out each other so thatv when the pad is in its iinally dried condition the towelsv are free from wrinkles and are substantially in the condition in which they would be if each individual towel had been ironed.

Besides saving the expense oi ironing (which raises the laundering costs of the individual towels to an excessive and unprotable point) the unironed towels have an advantage over ironed ones in that their surface is more absorbent and soft and they are therefore better in this condition for drying purposes. The above advantages as of non-ironing and theconsequent saving in laundering costs cannot be obtained without the rigid back on the pad 'as I have found from exeprience. Without this featurethe pads do not ride properly in the tumbler and the individual towels instead oi assuming the desired ilat form will fold relative to each other and to the bound edge one way or the other so that subsequent ironingthe very thing to be avoided as above pointed out-is inevitable.

In connection with the washing of the towel pad, it will be seen that the towels are free of each otherl over nearly the entire area so that proper cleansing of the soiled portions is insured.

The towels are usually provided with hems along their edges opposite the bound back. vI

have found that if the hems all aline with eachv other when the pad is placed in the cabinet, the hem of a towel being pulled out and down by the user tends to catch on the hem or the towel behind and pull the saine down also. To avoid this the towels of the pad are made successively shorter from the rear or innermost one (relative to the cabinet) as shown, so that the hems will miss each other and there is no danger of them catching.

From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that I have produced such a device as substantially fulfills the objects oi the invention as set forth herein.

While this specication sets forth in detail the present and preferred construction of the device, still in practice such deviations from such detail may be resorted to as do not form a departure from the spirit of the invention, as dened by the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and useful and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A book form towel pad comprising a plurality or individual towels each having a substantially straight edge, the towels being arranged in superimposed face to face relation with said tially straight edge, the towels being arranged in superimposed face to face relation with said straight edges lying approximately in a common plane, and rows of continuous stitching spaced a substantial distance apart passing through all the towels, one of said rows being adjacent such edges and extending continuously from side edge to side edge of the pad to compress such edge portions tightly together over the stitched area and a rigid strip permanently embedded in the pad along said edges and within the stitched area.

3. A book form towel pad comprising a plurality of individual towels each having a substantially straight edge, said towels being arranged in superimposed face to face relation with said straight edges lying approximately in a common plane, and spaced rows of continuous stitching passing through said straight edges and compressing the same into a substantially rigid portion of the pad, said rows of stitching extending along said edges from side edge to side edge of the pad, the material within the stitched area being compressed to cause the faces of the compressed portion to lie in spaced relation and within the planes of the outer surfaces of the body of the pad.

4. A book form towel pad comprising a plurality of towels of compressible textile fabric each Vhaving a substantially straight edge, the towels being laid in face to face relation with the straight edges substantially in a common plane, means extending through said towels for compressing and fastening the towels together along said edges and for a certain distance inwardly from such edges to form of the towel material and of the said means a relatively stiff back for the pad adjacent said edges and extending from side edge to side edge of the pad, the faces of such back lying in spaced relation inwardly of the respective planes of the outer surfaces of the body of the pad.

5. A book form towel pad comprising a plurality of towels each having a substantially straight edge, the towels being laid in face to face relation with said straight edges approximately in a common plane, such pad having the individual towels thereof permanently compressed and fastened together adjacent such straight edges by permanent and irremovable fastening means extending through all said towels and from side to side of the pad, said pad being compressed by the fastening means adjacent such edges to form a relatively stiff back for the pad extending from side edge to side edge of the pad and located with its longitudinal faces spaced inwardly of the outer surfaces of the body of the pad.

AUGUST I. HONDEVILLE. 

